Re: The trial of Husband and Dobbie
Posted: Thu Jul 05, 2018 5:24 pm
From the Press Association.
Members of a jury were praised for their perseverance in sweltering heat as they deliberated on 21 counts of sexual abuse.
The panel of seven women and five men deliberated for 25 hours and 43 minutes over five-and-a-half days in the case of James Husband and Gary Dobbie at Hove Crown Court.
Their discussions were hampered by interruptions, ranging from soaring temperatures in the South East heatwave to difficulty getting to court on time because of cancelled and disrupted Govia Thameslink Railway services.
After the verdicts were returned on Thursday, Judge Christine Henson praised their fortitude in persisting in "difficult conditions".
On Tuesday, amid health warnings issued over the heatwave, the court heard some jurors were left feeling faint because the room was too hot. They were already being sent home hours early each day because of the unbearable conditions.
To resolve the matter, she and her clerk searched the building for a better alternative. They found a much larger, unused room in the basement with natural light and "the most fantastic air conditioning".
Extra staff were brought in to assist the move.
Several unused fans were also later found and used to cool the upstairs rooms.
Judge Henson branded the conditions the jurors were experiencing as "completely unacceptable".
The problem appeared to also cause delays to a jury being selected in the trial of five men accused of prison mutiny after a riot at HMP Lewes on October 29 2016, which was being heard in another part of the building.
Meanwhile, Dobbie and Husband spent much of their time chatting outside the court room and completing a crossword with relatives as they waited for the verdicts.
When they learned on Wednesday afternoon the jury would be finishing deliberations for the day, Husband was overheard joking to Dobbie: "It just means another gin and tonic Dobbie, think of it that way."
Members of a jury were praised for their perseverance in sweltering heat as they deliberated on 21 counts of sexual abuse.
The panel of seven women and five men deliberated for 25 hours and 43 minutes over five-and-a-half days in the case of James Husband and Gary Dobbie at Hove Crown Court.
Their discussions were hampered by interruptions, ranging from soaring temperatures in the South East heatwave to difficulty getting to court on time because of cancelled and disrupted Govia Thameslink Railway services.
After the verdicts were returned on Thursday, Judge Christine Henson praised their fortitude in persisting in "difficult conditions".
On Tuesday, amid health warnings issued over the heatwave, the court heard some jurors were left feeling faint because the room was too hot. They were already being sent home hours early each day because of the unbearable conditions.
To resolve the matter, she and her clerk searched the building for a better alternative. They found a much larger, unused room in the basement with natural light and "the most fantastic air conditioning".
Extra staff were brought in to assist the move.
Several unused fans were also later found and used to cool the upstairs rooms.
Judge Henson branded the conditions the jurors were experiencing as "completely unacceptable".
The problem appeared to also cause delays to a jury being selected in the trial of five men accused of prison mutiny after a riot at HMP Lewes on October 29 2016, which was being heard in another part of the building.
Meanwhile, Dobbie and Husband spent much of their time chatting outside the court room and completing a crossword with relatives as they waited for the verdicts.
When they learned on Wednesday afternoon the jury would be finishing deliberations for the day, Husband was overheard joking to Dobbie: "It just means another gin and tonic Dobbie, think of it that way."